Today is a short entry. The day started out as a quiet day and ended as a potentially scary one. We started out after breakfast and checking out of our hostel, driving up to the botanical gardens at the top of the hillside. We began with the cable car museum which was very cute, with the history of the cable cars in Wellington starting at the turn of the century. It also had two old cable cars--one that could be climbed on. The tracks for the cable cars were developed because all of the flat space in the area and the lower hillside had been filled in and they wanted to develop the hillside. To do that, they had to provide a convenient way to get up and down the hill to lure people to live there. It worked very well and eventually the college (now university) was located there as well.
Then we looked at the botanical gardens. When Wellington was first being planned, they included a “belt” of green space surrounding the city (similar to the ring of park that surrounds the city of Minneapolis). The botanical gardens were planned for one part of that space even then. The first commissioner of the gardens began with a large hillside of bush and eventually cleared paths and roads and planted gardens and grassy areas. We even found a playground that the children (and parents!) had fun playing at. They had an area of native plants that are becoming rare to find in the wild. They are becoming lost due to the loss of bushland and the introduction of non-native plants and animals. Very similar to our loss of prairie in Minnesota. I have planted mostly natives in my own garden (they help prevent erosion and the loss of topsoil, filter the water before it reaches the river or groundwater supply, promotes beneficial insects, and provides nectar and host plants for butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and other wildlife). The gardens were pretty, despite the fact that it is early winter here (the hydrangeas were definitely at the end of their flowering season!).
We then drove to Turangi, a small town near Lake Taupo (which is a resort area). There are inactive volcanoes and mountains to climb, as well as many nice trails. After arriving at our lodge (it is actually a fishing lodge, but many people stay here to walk the many trails), we decided to take a short hike. Our cottage is “semi-detached”, meaning that it is attached to another cottage on one side. It has two bedrooms, bathroom, living/dining area, and kitchen. Very nice for two nights. Our hike was to be short (since night comes soon in the winter). We hiked along along a trout stream that is at the one edge of the lodge property. We crossed a swing bridge over the stream and walked back along the other side. It was not particularly pretty (we’ve seen way better) but it was OK--we took a picture under a weeping cherry tree. Then we reached an area that appeared to have been very recently logged. It was clear cut and full of pine branches and the trail was full of muddy ruts from the trucks. It took us longer than it should have to get around all the mud and debris and found ourselves still trying to make our way out as the sun set. Then we had to make our way down the hillside trail in the dark, cross the bridge, and walk dark, unfamiliar streets to make our way back to our accomodations. We finally made it, but it was a little worrying--especially on the hill in the dark with a steep drop off on one side.
Then for a trip to the grocery store to get food to make dinner and breakfast in the morning. Probably a game of cards tonight before bed.
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